Oregon Signature Collectors Near Deadline

Some Oregon petitions have gained enough signatures but others still need more to be put on the ballot this fall.

Wikimedia user M.O. Stevens
/ Wikimedia Commons

Signature gatherers will be out in force in Oregon in the next few weeks. Groups are racing to beat a deadline early next month to submit enough names to get initiatives on the ballot this fall.

The man with a clipboard gathering names on this downtown Salem street corner offers passersby a preview of what could be on their ballot this fall:

"Do you think marijuana should be legalized, ma'am?" he asks.

In fact, pro-pot groups are on track to get not one, but two marijuana legalization measures on the Oregon ballot.

Another measure on pace to make the ballot would ban commercial gillnetting on the Columbia River. Oregon voters could also decide whether to authorize a non-tribal casino near Portland. And the group behind an effort to end Oregon's kicker tax rebate for corporations says it's nearing the number of signatures needed to make the ballot.

Already confirmed are three ballot measures: One initiative would ban real estate transfer taxes in Oregon. Two others were referred by lawmakers. One would make technical changes to the state constitution. The other would expand the governor's powers in an emergency.